Chapter 11: Until Death Do Us Part

Once the blackness faded, redness spilled all over the scene. They seeped out of a fallen body, crawled across the ground. Edd couldn't believe what he saw.

Swiftly, he came to Kevin, stooped down, rolled his limp body and stared at him. The nerd's blank face stared back through bloodstained lenses.

"Kev? Kevin? Can you hear me?" he squeezed his shoulders, shook him fiercely but the fragile figure merely followed each shake. His head bobbed up and down, the red cap fell, and a mess of orange strands burst free.

"D..." he dropped the word, short and tired. Kevin's eyes dragged shut, but his arms defiantly, yet weakly, reached for Edd's face. His hands, caked in his own blood, smeared a few red colour on Double D's cheeks.

"Don't you dare let go!" He seethed and brushed off the obscuring strands over the gory face of his partner. He held on to the bloody hand. "Please, don't-" his voice cracked mid-way of the sentence. "Kevin..." he savoured the name on his tongue as he pushed back the tears that threatened to stream down.

"You..." But the nerd wasn't able to add anything more. The hand slipped off his strong, warm grasp. The weight of the ginger felt lighter. His breathing slowly diminished until he lay down like a fallen statue.

No... that was all Edd thought but he didn't let go of the corpse yet. He pressed his partner's body, embraced him tighter than ever, and silently wept a thousand salty tears. He gripped his green sweater and pushed the cold body to him. Blood darkened his own red shirt, blood smeared across his arms and blood tainted his dogtags.

Huskily, in between tears, he whispered to the dead boy, "I never told you how much you mean the world to me. Now you'll never know that I love you..."

Double D felt the hot tears blurring his vision and trickling down his face. Gently, he put down the bloody figure. Before he stood up, he ghosted his face over those frozen lips but instead of a kiss, a tear fell and Edd pulled away with bitter anger boiling inside of him.

"Curse you," he cast a mean glare at the robot. Destroya stood still with no shade of remorse or guilt. Of course, he didn't know the gravity of the situation to his own master. Not even the seven knives that glistened in Kevin's pool of blood knew what happened. And this was the secret that Edd planned to take to his grave.

He picked up his clothes and donned his trousers. Then he suited up his dead partner but kept the pair of boxers. It would be a shame if they found you naked... he thought. Oh, what's this?

A prominent square object rested against Kevin's chest, bloodstained like himself, but it looked too important to ignore.

"Oh my god..." he breathed out. It was Kevin's surprise. The notebook was left open on a certain page and though the page was soiled with too much redness, there were a few words readable:

"No, just no. No, it's not possible-and feelings? Not even close. Who are you? Who... make me feel...? But most of all, who am I to say... never felt anything like this, I don't know anything... But I have a heart and behind... feelings locked... Maybe I have... for you but... all i know... my heart..."

Those were the only comprehensible words left; the puzzling, senseless words untouched by the blood were useless now.

"Curse phrases," he muttered. With the red notebook and the clean underwear, he angrily strode up the stairs and left the the basement for good.

~Unwritten~

Joy. Happiness. Love.

It was thee last celebration of academic excellence, and an opportunity to shine. Smiles were plastered on everyone's faces. The "Congratulations!" phrase was being abused by both parents and students, teachers and other school authorities.

"We made it through High School!"

"And we're still in one piece!"

Everyone was happy even before the ceremony started.

And now, the ceremony was ending. All these Seniors couldn't wait to toss up their graduation caps and be free. College awaits these young endeavors, but not everyone would be able to feel the college life...

"I stand here today, telling yo that I am neither happy nor proud. I don't deserve this." Eddward Rockwell's voice was calm yet strong. "We all have come this far but I shouldn't be the one standing right in front, delivering this speech."

A buzz rose from his batchmates. The parents silently wondered what the heck was this genius saying, was he even sane?

"Yesterday, we've lost a member. And I'm sure you don't care. But I... I deeply care about Kevin Barr."

The name silenced the sea of humans. Now he had their attention and Nat, who had dozed off in the middle of the ceremony, was awakened by the mere mentioning of his best friend's name.

"Kevin Barr, a great kid, he was. Pretty nerdy, I'm sure all of us had thought of that once in our lives. But where is he now? Do you see him? Is he with us?" Double D paused and continued in a booming voice, "He's dead."

Murmurs. Gasps. Astonishment. Everyone was befuddled.

"He's dead since yesterday and none of you would care if he wasn't mentioned in my speech. None of you care, I'm the only one who does. And why, you may ask? Because... he was more than just a nerd addicted to robots. I knew him. I knew him and beneath that red cap, there's a big brain-bigger than mine's! But most of all, beneath that horrid green apparel, he's got a big heart. And I wish... that somehow... in that heart of his... he loved me. Because I, Eddward Rockwell, loved him more than you could ever know. I'd like to end my speech with something inspirational but all I can say is... true love... lives on through death."

Confidently, he left the stage. Indifferently, he left the gaping crowd, speechless.

~Unwritten~

A bitter breeze was blowing across his path today, but Edd didn't care. Everything tasted bitter now. The skies shifted into a colour darker than pepper and darker than ink. The scent of rain invaded his nostrils but the sight of it was yet to come. He could only feel the storm... But what he truly felt was the random paper that slapped him on the face. Wordlessly, he brushed off the white sheet and continued his walk home. He dared to walk out after his little speech and hadn't turned around, not even once.

What's the point of looking back or looking forward? he asked himself. Where am I going anyway?

Another paper flew across and landed on his face. Double D ignored the second paper, then the third, the fourth, the fifth... they were nothing but blank sheets calling his attention!

"Can't a man walk in peace?!" He exclaimed to the grumbling sky and another sheet-the ninth sheet-threatened to slap him again. This time, he caught the mischievous thing with one hand and examined it. An arrow was drawn on the paper.

"What the-?"

Instinct reined over him and Edd turned around. On the floor, the other papers, the previous sheets he rejected were lying on the ground. One letter, one page... the message surprised him but it didn't appear to be a joke.

I love you, the papers said. He blinked his eyes, then he stared at the paper in his hands. Carefully, he flipped it to the backside and at the bottom of the paper...

His legs raced each other as he ran home. The swimmer dashed inside his room, immediately locked the door and unlatched the window. He ripped out a page from the first notebook he saw, scribbled down the same message with red ink and folded the paper into an airplane. With the red marker, he signed it. With a single throw, he threw the folded paper out of his window, across the world outside. Observing green eyes watched the paper dissolve into the graying distance...

Edd closed his window and dropped himself on his bed. An unsettling rustling sound crunched beneath his head. The raven lifted the pillow and met face-to-face with the same paper plane.

"What are you doing in here?" He unfolded his own origami and merely saw the message again.

I love you.

He looked at the bottom of the sheet... quietly smiled and folded it back to an airplane.

Sprawled with red ink on the bottom was his signature. But written beside his red lines, black ink rose with a familiar handwriting and a familiar name: it was Kevin's name.

END.

Thank you all for your support and for taking time to read my ever-first written (and now completed) KevEdd! (: Expect a normal!verse Kevedd and a Teacher!AU in the future!

Yours truly, Walter